


Catch you, Catch me

by MitsubachiAria



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: M/M, Makeup, Pre-Relationship, Sort Of, Trans Saihara Shuichi, magical girl au, mostly - Freeform, rivals to friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:34:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27852610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MitsubachiAria/pseuds/MitsubachiAria
Summary: Local Magical Boy Shuichi Saihara, known as Detec S, finds that fellow hero Domino knows his civilian identity, and tries to find his out to try and ask for an alliance.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	Catch you, Catch me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Psychiccupid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psychiccupid/gifts).



> Happy birthday to Ezra! I meant to post this on your actual birthday, but got impatient... Early present, then! It's your favorite boys, with some magical spice, so hopefully you enjoy it!

The magical masked hero Detec S was well known in the little town of Hope’s Bluff, but more as an urban legend than anything. It was said that sometimes, a strange fog would settle over someone, and they would awaken to see the flash of blue in an unfamiliar place. A few had seen him fighting some strange creature, but no one could discern his true identity. Whispers said the gun-like weapon he wielded actually shot out hopes and dreams, but those who had seen him fight said it was closer to bursts of light. 

Less notorious was a newer hero, known as Domino, who wore an elaborate costume of black, white, and purple and fought with fireworks and smoke bombs. He was said to be a lot more chatty when fighting, mocking the monster, and on the occasions where they’d cross paths, Detec S. No one was sure if the two were friends or enemies, but they both were welcome sights to a civilian in danger. 

To Detec S, or as he knew himself, Shuichi Saihara, Domino was an acquaintance and a bit of an annoyance. After one battle, where the two ended up fighting a plant that had grown to the size of a building, he had the nerve to approach him afterwards with more mockery. “Detec S, that pretty mask you wear isn’t enough to hide your identity, you know,” Domino taunted. “Unlike myself, you don’t take nearly enough precautions to veil your identity!”

Shuichi rolled his eyes behind his mask. This wasn’t the first time Domino gave him such empty threats, and it wouldn’t be the last time, he was sure. “You know, you don’t need to keep pretending we’re enemies,” he said, the intimidation he’d felt upon the first few encounters with another masked hero all but gone. “We both fight the same monsters, it’s not as if we can’t work together.”

“Aww, you wanna work with little ol’ meeee?” Domino trilled, twirling around him, skirt flaring out and bouncing around like it had layers upon layers of petticoats under it. It probably did- Domino was the only hero who bothered wearing a cape along with the costume that came with transforming, after all. Wouldn’t surprise him if he had taken the outfit he got when he transformed the first time and accessorized it to the nines. “Well, I would just love to, but! I just can’t associate with someone so foolish… Perhaps if you can figure out my identity as well, I’ll let you be my servant!”

“How do I even know you know my identity?” Shuichi countered. “If you’re so sure, then prove it. What’s my name?”

Domino giggled with that strange laugh of his. “Aww, just saying it is no fun! I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you proof… tomorrow, how about that?”

“Fine, sure,” Shuichi agreed. “I’m too tired to deal with this tonight, anyways.” He still had school tomorrow, after all. 

He turned around to start walking home, only to be met by Domino’s indignant huffs. “Aww, not gonna say goodbye to your favorite rival?”

“We aren’t rivals,” Shuichi countered, continuing to leave. He threw a wave at him without looking back. 

He kept walking the empty streets for a while until he was sure no one could see him, and Domino wasn’t tailing him. He then slunk behind a building to quickly transform back into his civilian form. No more mask, fancy blue outfit replaced with his regular clothes, bright blue hair fading back to a dull almost black shade, eyes going from a bright gold to a dull hazel- he was pretty much unrecognizable, especially since he was of fairly average height. There was no way Domino could know who he was, right? 

At school the next day, a note card fell out of his locker, and his blood ran cold. All that was on it was a doodle of a domino and a magnifying glass. So Domino wasn’t bluffing? He was probably even a student here if he’d been able to get in- couldn’t be a teacher, none of the teachers were that short, and if he knew his locker number, he had to have at least seen him before, right?

He stuffed the note card in his binder, and began keeping his eyes on everyone he passed in the halls, trying to spot anyone who matched Domino’s physical appearance. Probably wouldn’t have bright purple hair that stuck out everywhere, but probably at least had shoulder length hair. Probably no bright purple eyes, but it wouldn’t be too hard to find a short guy with a shit eating grin, right?

Did he even know he was a guy, though? He’d referred to himself with he/him pronouns before, and as things like “king”, but it was possible he was just doing that to throw people off his trail. Himiko, for instance, had a close enough hair style, a bit of a mischievous streak, and was pretty short. But, he knew what Himiko’s voice sounded like, so it couldn’t be her, surely. His voice didn’t really change when he transformed, after all.

He wished he could ask someone for help, but no one knew about his secret! He couldn’t risk endangering anyone or worrying them by them knowing. But… Domino did know, right? And Domino was already putting himself in danger, so theoretically, they could talk without any issue, right? He could have a friend who understood this. Even if Domino was a bit… odd… he could be his friend, surely. 

At lunch, he barely even touched his food, just spending the whole time looking around for anyone who could be Domino. He didn’t know many people here that well- he wasn’t in any clubs, and he wasn’t particularly sociable. His only real friends were Kaito, Himiko, and Kaede, and aside from Himiko, who’d been assigned to work with him in science labs, they’d all sought him out, thinking (correctly) that he was lonely. 

Kaede poked his cheek with a fork, interrupting his train of thought. “Come on, eat up!” she insisted. “What’s up with you, you’ve just been looking around the cafeteria!”

“He probably has one of those crushes,” Himiko teased. “Come on, who is it? And can I have your fries?”

Shuichi moved his tray away from her and shoved a few fries in his mouth. “No, it’s not that! And no way!” Maybe if he described the situation vaguely… “Just, someone put something in my locker this morning, and I can’t figure out who it was because they didn’t leave a note. I think I saw them from afar- looked like a boy, really short with long-ish hair?”

Himiko groaned. “Ugh, sounds like that little shit in my literature class. What did he put in there?” 

“A- a chocolate,” he lied, blushing a bit at how that sounded. “Wh-what’s his name?”

“Ooh, Shuichi has a secret admirer?” Kaede cooed. “How mysterious! And Himiko, are you talking about that Ouma kid?”

The red haired magic enthusiast nodded. “Kokichi Ouma, little shit incarnate. Can’t miss him, he always dresses way out of dress code,” she noted with a note of bitterness. She’d gotten in trouble in their first year for trying to wear a witch hat to school, so maybe she was a bit jealous if he got away with it?

That sure sounded like a Domino thing to do. “Where is he?” Shuichi asked, looking around the lunch room. 

Kaede stood up on her chair for a minute and looked around. “Looks like he’s over by Rantaro today,” she noted. “I think they’re friends, or something like that…”

Shuichi could spot Rantaro’s bright green hair from a mile away- he’d dyed it that color the past summer, and was repeatedly told to dye it back to a normal color, but had refused on the grounds that he’d rather get in trouble than dye it back, and had accepted a month of detention proudly for it. He didn’t know Rantaro himself, of course, but he knew well enough of him- everyone did. He was popular, in the way that Shuichi barely ever took notice of, but even he had to acknowledge when so much was said of him. 

Slipping the note card out of his binder, he began heading over to approach the guy. He spotted the person in question as soon as he got close enough to the table to see over the tall people around him. Short guy with dark hair that looked faintly purple, and was wearing the skirt of the girls’ uniform with the blazer of the guys’. Nervously, he tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me, are you Kokichi Ouma?”

The guy whipped around, big brown eyes staring into him. “Yeah?” he asked in a soft voice that made him doubt if this was the right guy. But, no, that would be just like Domino too. He’d want to toy with him a bit. He needed to be confident!

“You dropped this,” he said with a slight smile, holding up the scribbled on note card. 

He doubted himself for a moment as Kokichi’s eyes scanned over it. “Lemme see that for a minute,” he asked, but he grabbed the note card out of his hand before he could get an answer. He scribbled something down on it before handing it back to him. 

_ Noon, behind the gym, _ his messy handwriting read. Noon, he’d have to be back in class by then… Was Domino asking him to skip class? Well, he might as well, right? He’d probably get in trouble, but this was worth investigating.

And so, behind the gym he was, finding the tiny boy sitting on a trash can and smiling as he came into view. “Aww, so my beloved Detec S came! Not such a goody two-shoes now, are you?” Yep, definitely Domino. 

“Look… I’m gonna be honest here, I’m having a hard time with all this hero stuff,” Shuichi admitted. “I don’t know how you found my identity, but, you wouldn’t reach out to me unless you wanted to know me in my civilian form, right?”

“Hmmm… nope!” he practically sang. “I just wanted to strike fear into your lovely little heart, Mister Beloved Hero~ Show you that you aren’t invincible!”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. “Yeah, sure, striking fear into my heart. You weren’t that hard to find once I knew where to look, you know.”

“Neither were you,” Domino- er, Kokichi taunted. “That little part of your hair that sticks out is very distinctive! I recognized you the moment I saw you in the halls!”

Despite trying to remain cool, he felt warmth rushing to his face. He’d tried many, many times to get that to stand down, but it just wouldn’t! “Look, I think we could make this work, don’t you? We know each other’s secrets, and we understand the other’s struggles-“

“What struggles?” Kokichi asked with a smirk. “I don’t struggle at all! Maybe you do, but as the most fearsome vigilante in this town, I have it easy! All my adoring fans, all my minions- everyone showers me with praise!”

Shuichi sighed. “Stop changing the subject,” he said firmly. He was starting to get why Himiko said he was such a pain. “You wanted me to find you today. That’s why you wore that skirt, right? To match Domino’s costume.”

“Yep! I wanted to give you the chance to be my servant, like we talked about!” Kokichi exclaimed. “You’re such a cute little hero, I would love to make you my cutie pie servant!”

Despite trying very, very hard to remain calm, he still found the back of his neck burning with all this “cutie pie” talk. “E-enough of that! I want to be partners, not your servant. I want to work together, so we can both have someone to talk to about all this! Please?”

He stared intently at the grinning fellow hero until Kokichi looked away. “Fine then, I’ll be your confidant. But, on one condition!”

“What?” 

“I wanna spice up the look of your hero outfit a little,” Kokichi said with surprising enthusiasm. “It’s so boooring! It looks like mine before I added some extra spice. You’d be so much cuter with like, a long coat and some hair clips and stuff!”

An odd request, but who was he to deny it. “Sure thing, but I draw the line at any skirts or dresses.” he agreed. “I’m not really comfortable in them, but most other things should be fine. I’ll let you know if anything else is uncomfortable for me, but I can’t think of anything right now.”

He had meant to go back to class after that, but when he turned to leave, Kokichi pulled him back. “Noooo, we’re going back to my place!” He protested. “I have inspiration! And it’s not very far anyhow.” 

Had Shuichi not been so desperate for someone to talk to, he might have objected and went back to class, but instead he got smirks from the people they passed by as Kokichi dragged him to the metro station, and after a few stops, a small apartment complex. Up a few flights of stairs, he was thrown into a cluttered but homey looking apartment only inhabited by a cat with a checkered scarf around its neck, who was asleep on the couch. Kokichi gave the cat a few scratches before pulling Shuichi into what was presumably his bedroom. It was a mess, but Kokichi didn’t bother to apologize for that.    
  
“Um, d-do you know what you’re looking for-?” Shuichi asked hesitantly. “And… your cat is really cute…”

Kokichi laughed, just the same way he always laughed as Domino. “Of course I do! And Checkers is my second in command of my secret army, so your fealty to him is appreciated.”

“Domino, Checkers… I’m sensing a theme here,” Shuichi remarked. “You aren’t wanting me to change my name to Chess or something, are you?”

“Nah, Detec S is cute.” Kokichi pulled out a bolt of some shimmery blue fabric. “Transform, won’t you? I wanna make sure the colors match.”

Transforming for such frivolous reasons seemed foolish, but he did so anyhow. He always felt nice in the Detec S costume- less so when Kokichi pulled his mask off, though. “You don’t mind makeup, do you? I couldn’t tell if you had some on earlier or if you were just really tired and had long eyelashes.”

“Makeup’s fine,” he assured him. “And… yeah, I did… I like how it makes my eyes look, plus I do some contouring, and I like how that looks a lot.”

Kokichi nodded. “Right, right. Seems it stays on when you transform… here, hold still, alright?”

He approached him with some golden eyeliner and carefully applied it, before getting out some sort of blue lip stain and lip shimmer and putting that on his lips. “Navy or gold?” Kokichi questioned, though he couldn’t tell whether he was asking him or not. It seemed he settled on both, as he brought back the golden eyeliner, as well as a navy blue one, and began drawing something on his cheeks. 

A smile curled across Kokichi’s face, and a mirror got shoved in front of Shuichi’s face. He felt his breath catch a little. He looked so flashy, but still really nice. The navy and gold had been used to draw little stars on his cheeks like freckles. He could mistake himself for a real hero in this kind of getup- the kind people could admire and aspire to be like. “You… you’re good at this,” he said softly. “Thank you…”

“Of course! I wanted to make sure my most beloved rival looked as lovely as possible,” Kokichi assured him. “That way, I won’t embarrass myself standing next to you! The cape and other accessories are probably going to take a little while, but do you like the idea of adding golds and dark blues to the color palette?”

“I- I think that sounds pretty, yeah.” He really hadn’t expected his fellow hero to end up trying to be his stylist, but this kind of attention made him feel warm inside in a way he couldn’t quite explain or even understand. “But, can I really pull off something this flashy?”

An exaggerated gasp came from Kokichi. “My servant dares to doubt me? Look, if I’m going to be honest here for a minute, I just think you’re holding yourself back!” 

“In what way?” Shuichi questioned. He always went all out when he was fighting- it was to keep people safe, after all! 

“You never look like you’re just enjoying yourself!” Kokichi exclaimed. “You act like you’re a salaryman when you’re a magical hero! You should enjoy it, show off a little, make everyone remember your name!”

“But it isn’t about me,” Shuichi protested. “I’m fighting to keep our city safe, not for my own gratification. I shouldn’t approach it as if it’s fun.”

Kokichi pouted. “But it is fun! I’m sure at least once when you were little you dreamed of being a hero, right? You have this responsibility, sure, but you don’t have to make it a drag! You’ll burn yourself out if you aren’t enjoying yourself. You’re stressed out about it all, that’s why you wanted to approach me, isn’t it? Because you thought you’d feel less lonely?”

His face burned a bit, but he hoped it wasn’t as visible with the adornments added. He’d been read like a book. “You’re right. It is a lot, but I’m not sure if approaching it like it’s a game is what’s going to help me. Really, I just want a partner. That’s why I asked you to fight with me, and that’s why I agreed to come with you.”

For the first time, Kokichi’s upbeat attitude faltered. “Well, I dunno if I’m the best choice for that,” he admitted. “I’m not as good at this as you are, and I could hurt you with my attacks if I’m not careful.”

“We can work on that,” Shuichi offered. He held out his hand for the fellow hero to shake. “Come on, what do you say?”

Instead, he was pulled into a gentle hug. “I’ll make sure those monsters didn’t know what hit them!” 

Neither of them wanted to pull away, it seemed. Shuichi became certain that Kokichi had been just as lonely as himself, and that was why he reached out. The two of them both needed someone who understood, and were lucky enough to find that in each other. 

The heroes Detec S and Domino became known as a formidable duo, protecting the city as one. It became expected that whenever trouble arose, the two of them would take it down together. And, if Domino was spotted with the mark of a sparkly blue kiss, or Detec S with new accessories every other night, that too was expected of them. 

  
  
  



End file.
